Pharoah is best known for his wide array of uncanny celebrity impressions on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, including President Barack Obama, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Stephen A. Smith, Kanye West and Chris Tucker, as well as for his recurring character of school principal Daniel Frye.
Pharoah developed his comedy skills at a young age, training in local comedy clubs. He went on to tour in the U.K., U.S. and Montreal.
Pharoah recently released a series of music videos through Above Average including “Bad Kisser,” a parody on Usher’s “Good Kisser,” and “Problems.” Pharoah’s previous Kanye West parody, “I Am a Dog,” became an instant viral video reaching over a million views within the first week. His past feature film credits include “Ride Along” with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, “Top Five” and “Balls Out.” This summer he debuted his first stand-up comedy special, “Jay Pharoah: Can I Be Me?,” on Showtime.
Originally from Virginia, Pharoah currently resides in New York City. His birthday is October 14.
The term “gotta laugh to keep from crying” could easily be any comedian’s mantra but for one Louisiana transplant, Comedian Rodney Perry, the tracks of his tears have been a passionate journey to the top of his game which has led him to laugh out loud at all his naysayers. Born in Chicago, Perry would find the infancies of his comedy career. He was a rambunctious seven year old. His teacher noticed Rodney’s funny nature and made a deal with him. If he would “shut up throughout the course of the day” he would be given an 0pportunity to perform for his classmates at the end of the day. Rodney took his teacher up on that deal. This was the beginning.
Although the city of Chicago has shaped the man that is Rodney Perry. Rodney found his early comedy stride while living in Monroe Louisiana. In the halls of Carroll High School he often found himself acting as the host of talent shows and even emceeing basketball games. Rodney Perry arrived in Louisiana as a boy but he would leave a man. As he graduated from high school Rodney was also given the news that his first daughter was on the way. Perry then made a decision that would affect him for years to come, he joined the U. S. Navy. He says “How could I ask my mom to take care of me and my child? I had to grow up, I had to become a man in a hurry”.
That was the beginning of eight years of service. During which time Rodney was honing his skills as a comedian. As his second tour began to wind down, Perry felt it was time to take what he calls a “Leap of Faith”. He exited the Navy with his then small family and moved to Hollywood. Well, actually Inglewood. Immediately, the harsh realisms of life outside of the military were staring Rodney in the face. He did tons of odd jobs to make the ends meet. He looked up and it was two years later and he still wasn’t living the dream that he had in mind when he relocated to Los Angeles. All that changed during a temporary assignment at the Veterans Administration. During his week at the VA Rodney befriended an amputee. One day he asked Perry; “What are you doing here?” and “Why aren’t you doing what you were set on this earth to do?” That was the wake-up call he needed. Rodney began doing any and everything in the world of comedy. He was an audience warm-up, a radio personality, a writer, and mostly a full-fledged Professional Stand-Up Comedian.
Rodney Perry has had the opportunity to learn the business of Comedy from some of the best. His first job in Hollywood was serving as writer/warm-up guy for Kym Whitley’s show “Oh Drama” on BET. Doors continued to open for Rodney as he got opportunities to serve as the opening act for the likes of George Lopez, Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey. It was Oscar Winner Mo’Nique that would introduce Rodney to the world on her late night talk show.
Perry calls Atlanta home when he’s not traveling the country to sold-out audiences or hosting his highly popular online radio show, Rodney Perry Live. His career has opened up many doors for him, from his work as co-host of “Who’s Got Jokes” or BET’s “Mo’Nique Show”, to his starring role as Harold in “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family”. Even though Perry is a sought out Actor/Host, he still remains a comedian at heart. He is currently preparing for his ‘made for TV’ comedy special entitled “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and can also be seen every Tuesday night as the current Host of Bounce TV’s “Off the Chain”!
Robert Powell III is a stand-up comedian, political satirist, and host. Armed with a Masters’ Degree in Political Science from Texas Christian University, Powell has worked as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Monroe, Louisiana as well as Special Assistant for then Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Although Powell was a rising star on the Louisiana political scene, he chose to pursue a career in comedy.
Receiving his break on the SHAQ ALL-STARS OF COMEDY special for Showtime, Powell has gone on to open for Trevor Noah at Politicon, receive rave reviews at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, tape a half hour comedy special for SeeSo and HBO’s ALL DEF COMEDY, and sell a half-hour scripted comedy to CBS based on his previous life in politics.
Comedian CP is a writer/performer currently starring in the second season of the HBOMax anthology series LOVE LIFE. Additionally, he is developing OAKLANDIA, an animated series for Amazon, as well as a feature for DreamWorks Animation called SPACE ARK.
Previously, CP starred in OLE BUD’S ANU FOOTBALL WEEKLY, a special he created for Adult Swim, as well as recurred as “Ned” on the critically acclaimed Comedy Central series DETROITERS. A frequent collaborator with All Def Digital, CP appears in the digital series ROAST ME, BAD NEWS, and DAD JOKES.
Prior to the entertainment business, CP was a rising advertising executive in Detroit. Since arriving in Los Angeles, CP has recurred on EMPIRE, performed stand-up on All Def Comedy (HBO), created and starred in the TBS pilot THE D, and hosted the MTV2 series WORLD STAR TV.
Comedian Oscar P is one of the funniest and most energetic performers who has toured 48 states. Often compared to comedic superstars Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, Oscar P’s act is a blend of comedy and real-life situations, making fun of relationships, and paying tribute to those before him. His comedy has been played on SiriusXM and is available on all platforms. Look for Oscar P’s daily social media post on Facebook to get your day started.
If you have not seen Oscar P, this is your opportunity to laugh out loud, funny is an understatement, mixed up with a side of Southern Soul.
Emmy Award winning Writer and Stand-Up Comedian Chris Paul gave the hottest celebrity headlines added to a rap beat every morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. From gossip to politics, from the lame to what seems like it’s insane, Chris Paul keeps it real, giving us a laugh while giving us the actual news that is hard to believe it’s true. Chris Paul writes, does stand up and collaborates with Huggy Lowdown.
His career in stand-up comedy began in high school, and 20 years later Chris is going stronger than ever! Chris has performed his stand-up on Comedy Central and BET, and he has shared the stage with comedy giants such as Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, and Drew Carey. In 2006 Chris co-headlined a 2-man show at the famous Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with Dave Chappelle. Chris has also lent his talents to several corporations for their commercial campaigns such as General Motors, AT&T Wireless, and Apple.
Robert Powell III is a stand-up comedian, political satirist, and host. Armed with a Masters’ Degree in Political Science from Texas Christian University, Powell has worked as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Monroe, Louisiana as well as Special Assistant for then Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Although Powell was a rising star on the Louisiana political scene, he chose to pursue a career in comedy.
